#23: A Special Conversation with Kathy Sullivan PhD, Former NASA Astronaut and NOAA Administrator

I was absolutely privileged to have former NASA Astronaut and ex-NOAA Administrator, Kathy Sullivan on my podcast.

Kathy can be called a geologist, an oceanographer, a scientist, an astronaut and an explorer. From being the first American woman to walk in space during her Shuttle missions to becoming the first woman to dive to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the world's deepest point, Kathy has had an incredible career. She was also the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of NOAA from 2014 to 2017. These days, among doing a number of other important things, Kathy hosts a podcast called Kathy Sullivan Explores, which I really recommend.

In this episode, we talk about her astronaut journey, her experience diving to the world's deepest point, weather, the importance of providing intelligence over data and what action we can take with respect to climate change. I don't think a 40-minute episode is enough to get all her thoughts and advice, but I tried to cover different subjects. I hope you get inspired listening to Kathy as much as I did.

-----

01:54: Kathy's intro

03:41: Kathy's astronaut experience

09:20: The overview effect

15:45: Kathy's experience diving to the world's deepest point

20:30: The interconnectedness of the world

25:50 Kathy's journey at NOAA

28:02: Is weather a solved problem?

32:57: Providing "intelligence" over "data"

35:09: The importance of space for climate

36:37: What action can we take?

38:15: What's keeping Kathy busy these days

41:08: 1-line message for everyone

-----